Lubricated plug valve



July 15, 1952 WADDELL ETAL 2,603,448

LUBRICATED PLUG VALVE Filed Jan. 28, 1948 HOMER J. WHDDELL FILESERT H. EDMUNDS INVENTURS FIG! I BY A- ATT Y5 Patented July 15, 1952 LUBBIGATED PLUG VALVE Homer J. Waddell, Baltimore, and Albert H, Ed-

monds, Lancaster, 'Ohio, assignors, by mesne assignments, to "The Waddll Manufacturing" Company, Inc., a'corporationof'flhio Original application August 30, 1946,. Serial No.

" 6 9 W Pa ent N '2', 96,96 IQW MQY 13, 1952. 'Divid'ed'and this 'applicationJanuary28, 1948, SerialNo. 4,898

2 Claims.

- 1 The present invention isdirectedto improvemerits in lubricated plug valves in' which. the valve surfaces are lubricated with each operation of the valve, the rotation of the valve forcing the lubricant over the valve seating surfaces.

This application is a divisionof applicants prior application, Serial No. 693,897, filed August 30, 19-26, which matured to Patent No. $596,963

on May 13, 1952, which application is directedto the'features of forced lubrication by which "the lubricant is circulated over the contacting'surfaces of the plug and valve body and across the top of the'plug to and from the main lubricating reservoir which is conveniently located the base of the valve housing.

The present application is directed to one form of valve originally shown in such application which is characterized by making the" plug and the stem by which it is turned in'two parts keyed together, it being desirable in certain cases to. make the valve of'this general design. The

organization shown herein also provides for better sealing of the upper end of the housing so that the lubricant is retained within the valve assembly.

- w-hile'this application is directed to the features particularly set "forth, it will'be necessary to describe thecomplete valve structure in sumcient detail so that the invention will be under- 1 stood.

The best known and preferred form of the invention is shown in the' drawings and will be described in detail in the specification, but it will be'un'derstood that this isffor the purpose of I making a full and complete disclosure and not to; limit'the inventionto the exact form "or details so'shown. and described.

' In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the corn- Plet? e e s em ly, thervalve" being shown in, I Op n position; I v

Fig. 2 is a'section'on the line 2- -2 of Fig.1;

Fig.3 is a side view and'Fig.4 a plan view oi' the plug removedfrom the housing;

Fig; 5 is a section on the line55 of Fig. 1;,and;

'Figl 6 is a vertical section of thestern takeii on 'a planeat'right'ahgles to Fig. 1.

Whilethe val've'shown and described herein is characterized "by the provision of "a plunger or piston in-screw-threaded relation to the rotata- L -'ble plug andso mounted that with each rotation or-the plug the piston makes a complete stroke, f: up. or down; in-th'e reservoir filled with the lubricent; the present invention is; not necessarily I limited to that type of va1ve,'f:but may: beapplied positioned ports 2 which provide tlrejlpw p the reservoir f6 'tothe seat l2, Qne; Q channels is shown indotteddines in. Fig; .1;

to other lubricated valves. the. fiiijgw ihgfi plug and itstseati-ng" surface: are shown co are mp y d, hese are relative merelra... valve may be located in any position,

The va e b dy I s ofany usual 91": iim form, that. shown herein havinggthe oppgs e lchamber is provided: withv a clean-outpassag e.

nor m'ally closedlby' a removable threadedplugffi.

' 'Froni'th'e upper end oithe res,ervqir o e, point close to" the top, the body .is' formed with'the machine 'flnishedvalve seatinggsurfac high is shown as'coni'cal'withthe larger nor on ,f the surface"towarditheftop'o'f the valve. A, th top of the seatin'gisu'r'fa'ce; the valvebodyiscu away to provide a surface; 'L2.*angular1in;cros

in which the bonnet, nto be described, Zrsjsieated and centered." 'In'thevarve seating surface in aracuttwo yernemgroo'ves'or'channels I28: which eggtend from channels are located I? apart and ,c'loseflo-the respective ports z;

The'plug -{Which constitutesithe rotatable 31123 br'o'f the valve-isindicateiiiasa'whole airiifl; ,iIhe main or" central portion .of the plug .is; enlarged and provided with'fai'machinedsurface l. fitting felosely against the seat l'llfi'n'ithe' valve. body; A

-impugn -passagefsz-s :m the; body; registers; with the passage 2 when" the'vaivei is opened: in the 1 surface 21 on th'e plugare:locatedthejtwo lubricant conducting groovesi 'Ml which. are 'located; as shown in Fig'stl3rand4',.as ;180fapart; Asshggwn 24 wipes over substantially one ayielding packing material. variety of materials may be used for this .pack- ;ing disk, it is preferred toemploy ajstandard asbestos packing whichhas a limited resilience.

cant seals around the two passages 2 when the valve is open. As the plug is turned each passage half of the seating area 10. v r I Each groove 24, in the form shown, extends from the top of the plug body to a point near the base of the plug body where it communicates with an internal radially arranged passage 25. These passages 25 communicate with an annular pocket or chamber 44 cut into the lower under surface of the plug body. The vertical walls of this chamber are finished so they have a relatively close sliding contact with the pistons, to be described.

On the axis of the plug is provided the depending stem or extension 45 ,which projects downwardly into the chamber 4. The outer surface of this extension is cut with a relatively steep thread 46 over most of its length. This is preferably a square out, multiple thread and its pitch is defpendent upon the extent to which the piston is to 'move in a quarter turn of the plug. In all types 1 of valves, the thread is designed to impart a substantial travel to the piston during the short arcuate movement of 90 required to open an close the valve."

The piston or plunger is designated by the numeral 48. It is threaded on the extension 45 and its outer surface is formed as a polygon roughly fittingthe socket'5 formed in the inner wall of the main reservoir. As shown in Fig. 1, this is a loose fit so that grease may fiow around the pisly close so that grease trapped with the chamber 44 will be forced by the upward movement of the piston through the grease grooves and passage over the valve seating surfaces. It will be noted from Fig. lthat when the valve is fully opened, the upper surface of the rib 50 lies slightly below i the entrance to the'pocket 44 so that the valve will turn over a short arc before the piston enters the pocket. This distance in the open position of the valve may be of any depth, depending upon the amount of lubricant which it is desired to circulate over the valve surfaces.

On the top of the housing is located the bonnet 55 which is secured to the valve body by the bolts 56, the lower end of the bonnet being formed with ""a rib 58 which fits snugly within the seat [2, the contacting surfaces being finished so that no "grease may seep out around the top of the 1 housing. The inner surface of the bonnet is i tapered or conical as shown at 59 and the space between the top of the plug and the inner surface of the bonnet provides a secondary lubricant chamber 60 with which the several lubricant channels 24 and 18 are in communication.

- The upper end of the plug is formed with an upstanding rib or key 18 parallel to the passage 23' and having two parallel sides as shown in Fig.

. 2. This rib is somewhat shorter than the diameter of the top of the plug so as to provide space in the lubricant chamber 60. Located in the center of the rib is a round socket 19 in the base of which is inserted a disk 80 which is madefrom While a wide conduct the lubricant to the chamber 96.

4 Over the top of the disk is located a washer 82 which is designed to take the direct thrust on the packing disk. Radial breather holes 83 lead from the socket 19;.

The stem is indicated as a whole, bythe numeral 86. The main portion of the stem which extends above the bonnet is non-circular, preferably square so as to provide means by which the stem may be turned, and over this squared portion is fitted the stop collar 81 which cooperates with lugs placed 90 apart on the honnet to limit the movement of the plug in opening and closing the valve as is well known in the art. The lower portion of the stem is flared outwardlyto form the conical surface 88 which is of the same contour as the inside surface 59 on the bonnet. A grease groove 89 is formed in the conical surface of the stem to form a continuous grease seal between the bonnet and the stem. The undersurface of the stem is provided with a broad, transverse kerf 90 which provides two feet 92 which span the rib 18 and thereby transmit turning movement of the stem to the plug.

Axially located in the upper part of the stem is a screw-threaded bore95, the lower end of 'which opens into an enlarged chamber 96 open justed position.

The interior of the sleeve constitutes a lubricant receiving passage 10! and in the sleeve is V threaded the lubricant feed screw I02 by which the grease is fed into the valve. The lower end of the sleeve 98 forms the bottom for the passage I (ll,

. an opening I04 at the base of the passage leading to a recess I65 from whichradial passages I 06 A spring-pressed ball check valve I01 prevents the lubricant from returning to the passage I0 I The lower end of the sleeve 98 bears against the washer 82 and holds the plug on its seat with any degree of pressure which may be desired by the vertical adjustment of the sleeve 98in the valve stem. It will be noted, however, that the pressure of the sleeve is placed directly. upon the compressible disk 80 which acts. as a pad to take up excessive pressures and avoids accidental breakage due to too vigorous advancement of the sleeve. It will also be noted that the pressure exerted on the head of the plug stem and the bonnet. This pressure is yielding because of the presence of the pad 80.

When the plug is assembled, the lubricant fills all of the chambers and grooves, and upon rotation of the plug the circulation of the grease j over the valve seating surfaces through the I grooves I8 and 24 and across the top of the plug to and from the main reservoir 4.

The embodiment of the invention has been described in great detail, but these details are not essential and ,may be varied or modified withinpthe scope of the invention as set forth in the'appended'claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A lubricated valve comprising a valve body provided with a valve seat open at one end, a rotatable plug in the seat, a bonnet secured tov the valve body and overlying the seat, said bonnet being spaced from the top of the plug to provide a lubricant chamber over the top of the plug, a bearing seat in the top of the plug, a valve stem rotatable in the bonnet and having a lubricant sealing surface in contact with the bonnet, a keyed connection between the valve stem and the plug, a hollow sleeve threaded into the stem, the inner end of the sleeve projecting into the chamber and bearin against the seat in the top of the plug, said sleeve constituting a lubricant channel and a lateral passage near the inner end of the sleeve and leading from the interior of the sleeve to the chamber to conduct lubricant into the chamber.

2. A lubricated valve comprising a valve body provided with a valve seat open at one end, a rotatable tapered plug in the seat, a bonnet se-, cured to the valve body and over-lying the seat, said bonnet being spaced from the top oi! the plug to provide a lubricant chamber over the top of the plug, the bonnet having a conical seat facing the plug, a valve stem rotatable in an axial lubricant passage leading from the outer end of the member to a point adjacent its inner end, and a lateral passage extending from the passage and opening into the lubricant chamber at the top of the plug.

HOMER J. WADDELL. ALBERT H. EDMONDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,624,512 Shipley Apr. 12, 1927 2,025,244' Morehead et al Dec. 4, 1935 2,062,068 Nordstrom Nov. 24, 1936 2,483,518 I Bettcher Oct. 4, 1949 2,552,375 Haun May 8, 1951 

